By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) It seemed like a good idea to pick up the pace and distance for Wednesday so I posted the ride that started my journey to the operating room and my recovery. Railroad Canyon has always been a favorite of mine and I didn’t want it to spook me now that I am back on the bike and working at getting comfortable with a few extra miles. I left the house with an extra water bottle because it was supposed to be hot today. I pulled in to see Digger already at the counter talking to Dragon Slayer. We had a cup of coffee together and talked till Papillion and Earth Dog arrived. Soon Minotaur and Abacus pulled up followed by Anaconda and Huntress. It seemed like a good little group to head out and work our way towards Acacia. So I pulled us out of the parking lot on Lyon to Acacia and over to Kirby.

I really had no intention of pulling today at all so I let someone else take us to Cypress and make the turn towards Johnston. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood today and were more interested in talking than running hard this early in the ride. We made it around the corner onto Johnston and waited to take the light on Sanderson so we could head south towards Stetson and then towards Domenigoni.

Once we crossed Mustang Minotaur took the lead and started us west and I tucked in right in the middle of the pace line thinking I would get a pull till after the dry wash. It turned out that Minotaur was feeling like holding a monster pull and we had only one lead change all the way to Winchester where we picked up Bandit and headed for Leon. Finally Minotaur gave up the lead knowing he had a long ride planned for the day and Bandit took us towards the Saddle. Just as we started up the saddle Minotaur pulled up next to Bandit and held the same pace as we climbed towards the beginning of the fence. I jumped out to pull but Dragon Slayer took that as an attack and the drag race to the top was on. We all crested and headed for the gas station on Menifee for a regroup and a slight change on routes.

It seems that Earth Dog had gone over the freeway on Newport the day before and the bridge was pretty torn up with construction. To be safe we headed north on Menifee and headed for McCall. We crossed Simpson together and got to McCall to catch the light and bunch up. Digger had gone straight on Newport giving him about a four mile head start before getting to Railroad canyon. Bandit, Papillion and Minotaur were in front of us and Dragon Slayer had to pull the rest of us to Murrieta to join the three leaders. Once on Murrieta my sinuses almost shut down from all of the antihistamines I have been taking so I fell to the back. Earth Dog fell back to ride with me as I slowly got my breath working again and headed for Newport at the tail end of the second group. Earth Dog got me to the bottom of Railroad canyon and I had to push myself a bit to catch Anaconda and Huntress. They got to the top of the first hill just before I did but I caught them at the light and they had to chase me all the way through the canyon and onto the last decent. Huntress chased me up the hills and Anaconda made a great effort trying to catch me before we exited the canyon and made it to Mickey Ds for a short coffee.

Abacus had to leave early because he had company and Bandit wanted to make one of the local steep climbs before heading home. Bandit was taking the rest of the group through Elsinore to Highway 74 and back to Perris while Digger and I were going to back track and head to Winchester so I could get home it time for a doctor’s appointment. We all pulled out to the parking lot and headed in different directions with Digger and I heading back through the canyon and planning on turning on Murrieta. I got through the Canyon first and got caught by Bandit just before we turned onto Murrieta and headed back to McCall. I had to stop for a phone call and we lost sight of Bandit. Digger and I rode over McCall and worked our way to the dump road and back to Winchester. We headed to Winchester Farms to get a banana and some fruit before heading for home on Stowe. We turned onto California and up to Stetson before heading east once more and riding back to Sanderson where we split up and I headed for home for a quick shower and a fast ride to the doctor’s office. It was a pretty quick 50 mile ride for me and one of the longer rides since I have been back.